


The Diamond Dog Problem

by ezazahaz



Category: The Brothers Bloom (2008)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective!Steven, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1467739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Diamond Dog would always be a threat.</p><p>Unless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Diamond Dog Problem

**Author's Note:**

> The dark Diamond Dog backstory and the brothers’ intense reactions to him were some of my favorite parts of the movie, but they’re also what annoyed me most about Stephen being willing to use the Dog in a con. So I fixed it.

♦♦♦

The message from the Diamond Dog unnerves Stephen more than he lets on. Bang Bang won’t offer sympathy, anyway, and there’s no way he’s telling Bloom about it.

Too late, he realizes that leaving Bloom in the dark is a mistake. The lack of warning just leaves him more vulnerable.

♦♦♦

Stephen comes into the bar for a late-night drink, wondering if Bloom is still up. He is.

And he has company.

When Stephen sees the Diamond Dog’s hand on his brother’s thigh, the rage is almost overpowering. He flashes back to a time almost 20 years past, when he walked in on Bloom, wide-eyed and petrified, their “caretaker’s” hands somewhere they definitely shouldn’t have been, and then suddenly the antique rapier that had hung on the wall was in Stephen’s hand.

Stephen was more impulsive, back then. This time, he smoothly inserts himself between the two, pushing his brother back gently before turning his ire on the one-eyed man.

“Oh! Stephen. We were just talking about you.”

There’s no rapier nearby this time, so a broken bottle will have to do. If the Dog can’t keep his goddamn hands to himself...

As much as his rage cries for him to finish it, Stephen knows he can’t kill someone in front of his brother. He can’t risk Bloom becoming as scared of him as he is of the Diamond Dog. Stephen wouldn’t be able to live with that.

♦♦♦

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“You can’t always be there.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t.”

That’s when Stephen realizes two things.

One, that his plan to let Bloom go means he won’t be there to protect him anymore.

Two, that the Diamond Dog will always be a threat.

Stephen starts to develop a plan that will solve at least the second problem. It might also solve another problem that he’s always known but couldn’t bring himself to face: He doesn’t know how to live without Bloom.

♦♦♦

“Stephen. To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice? Did you call to see if my stitches have been removed yet?” Even over the phone, the Diamond Dog’s falsely saccharine voice grates on Stephen’s nerves.

“Got a con in the works. Take is 1.75 million. Need your help on it.”

“The Brothers Bloom need my help, do they? Finally returning to the master. Did your brother tell you about our little chat?”

“Rule number one of this deal: You never touch my brother again. After our business is concluded, you never go near him again. You step foot in the same country as him, you're dead.”

“And what do I get, in exchange for agreeing to this unnecessary arrangement?”

“You mean, aside from 1.75 million dollars?” It's a rhetorical question. There's something the Diamond Dog wants from him, far more than a small fortune.

Revenge.

“You get me.”

♦♦♦

Of course, he doesn’t trust the Dog to honor the agreement. Just as well, since Stephen’s not going to honor it exactly, anyway.

The ransom note that goes into his notebook for Bloom to find later says exactly what the Diamond Dog wants it to say, except for one thing: the account number. Instead of $1.75 million being deposited into the Russian’s bank account, the money will end up in an untraceable Swiss bank account owned by none other than Bang Bang.

The money will be her payment for a final job for Stephen. And for Bloom, though Bloom will never know it.

The Brothers Bloom have never killed anyone. They’ve faked their own deaths a hundred times, but never caused a real death, even if some of their marks might have deserved it. Bang Bang’s explosives have never been used fatally, at least not while working with the brothers. Stephen suspects there may be something less innocent in her past, but he’s never asked.

So now he’s not sure exactly how horrible a thing he’s asking of her.

She agrees to it, though. He suspects she’s doing it less for the final paycheck--much larger than her usual cut in one of their jobs--and more for Bloom. That’s perfectly okay with Stephen. Bloom’s the entire reason he’s doing it. The entire reason he’s done everything, in his entire life, even if Bloom never believed that.

♦♦♦

Stephen sits in a chair on stage, bleeding out and content.

Yes, Bloom is gone. But he’s finally getting what he wants, to ride off into the sunset with a woman who knows him and loves him. He’s getting something real.

And he’s safe. The Diamond Dog will never touch him again. The Diamond Dog will never hurt anyone ever again. Bang Bang will see to that.

The Dog won’t be in Bloom’s way. Stephen won’t be in Bloom’s way. And Stephen won’t have to live without Bloom.

Everyone gets what they want. It’s perfect.

Stephen smiles.

♦♦♦


End file.
